Editorial: Mourning the Fallen

Perhaps it’s the sun and idyllic weather here. Perhaps it’s the fresh air and the churning surf in the boundless ocean. Perhaps it’s the rich terra firma producing picture-perfect rows of fruits and vegetables. Whatever it is, this special place our Central Coast, for many seems like paradise.

Well this past Tuesday, the horrific killing of two police officers in Santa Cruz shook all of us to the core. Yes, all of us have watched national news where sworn officers have fallen in the line of duty, but those places, until now, have seemed far away: Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta -- big cities with big problems. Even here in our region’s biggest city, Salinas, arguably the one with the most challenging gang and drug issues, only one officer has ever been killed on duty, and that was an unfortunate motorcycle accident way back in 1945.

In its entire history, of almost 150 years, the police department in the City of Santa Cruz has never lost an officer; now two have given their last full measure. They died protecting all of us. Indeed, that “thin blue line” of all those sworn to uphold the law, is the line that separates peaceful order from lawlessness. Police, sheriff’s deputies, CHP, and even park rangers freely agree to put their respective lives on the line to hold the line for the rest of us - and sometimes giving up their life to protect us.

Our KSBW Editorial Board this week would ask those watching, who are inclined toward prayer, to pray with earnest. Give thanks for the joyous lives and good work of Detective Sergeant Butch Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler; and also pray for compassion and healing for the families and friends they leave behind who are hurting and in sadness.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”